The Fairfield University women’s basketball team has an even record of 3-3, leaving fans on their toes to see if the Stags will break through and excel this season. They team has played on their home court at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. only twice, returning for the first time in several weeks to face off against Yale University for a matinee game on Nov. 28.
Fairfield’s interstate rivals, the Bulldogs, have historically buckled under the pressure of the Stags. With a record of 9-4 dating back to Jan. 21 of 1987, Fairfield was the favorite to win, however Yale’s group this year battled hard to secure a narrow 71-64 victory.
The first period of play was slow for the home-team in red and white. Yale blew them out of the water more than doubling their points by the end of the ten-minute quarter. In the second, Fairfield managed to gather themselves and soar. The Stags tallied a whopping 30 points, giving them a solid lead against their Ivy League opponents. This period would act as the highest-scoring ten-minute quarter for the Stags all season.
Halfway through the second period, a good jumper by Lou Lopez-Senechal ‘22 put the Stags within one point of Yale, equipping her team with the momentum to pull past the Bulldogs who would subsequently give up the lead for the first time all afternoon. The Stags would go on a 16-2 run, tapering off at 33 points to Yale’s 26. Yale would answer back quietly, unable to upend the Stags going into halftime, 40-33.
The third period is when things would begin to fall apart for the Stags. They would register less than half the points they did in the period prior, and Yale would post 18 points to chip away at Fairfield’s lead.
In the fourth and final stretch, Fairfield was not able to hold on, and Yale took advantage by pushing past them. Yale took off, scoring 11 unanswered points to run out the clock. This caused the Stags to disappointingly fall short, with a final score of 71-64 in Yale’s favor.
Despite the loss, Lopez-Senechal’s commendable performance put her at the top of Fairfield’s leaderboard in terms of scoring. She registered 27 points. Just behind her was graduate student Sam Lewis, also in the double digits, with 15 points. These efforts are telltale signs that the Stags have it in them to succeed, and just need some finetuning with the bulk of the season ahead.
To kick off the month of December, Fairfield will travel to Amherst, Mass. to visit the University of Massachusetts Amherst (7-1) for an evening game. The game will not be streamed online, however live stats will be posted on the UMass athletics official website, and will be updated throughout the game.
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